Katherine V. Gilger
Violin
“with technical skills to burn and with just the right approach to the music, from an expressive standpoint”
Violinist Katherine Gilger is an active performer and teacher. Katherine performs regularly with the North Carolina Symphony and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In Spring 2024, she toured with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on their California tour, performing in prestigious venues along the West Coast. Katherine is also the Assistant Concertmaster of The Venice Symphony in Florida, where she holds the Diane & James Crawford Chair. In addition, she has appeared with other ensembles including the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Charleston Symphony, the North Carolina Opera, and the APEX Ensemble/ Montclair Orchestra.
A graduate of the Mannes School of Music in New York City where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, Katherine studied with David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and renowned pedagogue Aaron Rosand. Furthermore, while attending the Aspen Music Festival and School for four summers, she studied with Indiana University professor and Dallas Symphony concertmaster Alex Kerr and Rice University professor Paul Kantor. As concertmaster of the Mannes Orchestra, Katherine has performed in venues including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, and the New York City Center and has collaborated with the internationally renowned Martha Graham Dance Company, the Mannes Opera, and The New School for Jazz.
A dedicated chamber musician, Katherine has performed with members of the American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the Mannes String Quartet, she participated in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Music Mentorship Program.
An experienced recitalist, she has performed recent concerts in Vermont, North Carolina, and upstate New York for the Young Musicians Forum. In New York City, she has appeared in concert at venues including the Bohemian National Hall, Frick Collection, House of the Redeemer, Morgan Library & Museum, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.
Katherine maintains a diverse private teaching studio and is on faculty at the 92nd Street Y Gilda and Henry Block School of the Arts in New York City and the NYC Violin Studio where she teaches violin, piano, and viola.
Katherine began playing the violin at seven years of age and the piano at four. Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, she studied violin with Izabela Spiewak, Sarah Johnson, Richard Luby, and North Carolina Symphony Assistant Concertmaster Rebekah Binford. During her high school years, she served as concertmaster of three youth orchestras: the Triangle Youth Philharmonic, the North Carolina Symphony’s Young All Stars Chamber Orchestra, and the Duke University Strings School Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Katherine has performed in master classes for renowned artists and teachers including Ida Kavafian, Daniel Stabrawa, Sylvia Rosenberg, Leila Josefowicz, Lara St. John, Stephen Clapp, Patinka Kopec, David Updegraff, Herbert Greenberg, Joan Kwuon, the Borromeo Quartet, and the Weilerstein Trio.
When not practicing and performing, Katherine enjoys traveling, hiking, horseback-riding, and spending time with friends, family, her adorable dog Riley, and her chinchillas Aski and Björn.
